IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


lAil2.8 

no    "^ 


■U  lii    12.2 


14 


1.1   l.-^n 


—    6" 


2.0 


1.8 


1:25  IIIIU   11 1.6 


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^  .V 


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V 


V 


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Photographic 

Sdences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIM  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  M580 

(716)  872-4503 


r^. 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


7 

t( 


\Z1 
D 
D 
D 

D 
D 
D 
D 
D 

D 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 

Covers  damaged/ 
Couverture  endommagie 

Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurAe  et/ou  pellicul6e 

Cover  title  missing/ 

Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps/ 

Cartes  giographiques  en  couleur 

Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

Coloured  platus  and/or  illustrations/ 
Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reii6  avec  d'autres  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  reliure  serrie  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  int6rieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajoutAss 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  4t6  film6es. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  supplAmentaires; 


L'Institut  a  microfilm*  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  6tA  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  methods  normal*)  de  filmage 
sont  indiqu6s  ci-dessous. 


n~|   Coloured  pages/ 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagies 

Pages  restored  and/oi 

Pages  restauries  et/ou  pellicuiAes 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxei 
Pages  d6color6es,  tacheties  ou  piquAes 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d6tach6es 

Showthroughy 
Transparence 

Quality  of  prir 

Quality  inAgale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  materit 
Comprend  du  materiel  suppi^mentaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Mition  disponible 


I  I  Pages  damaged/ 

I  I  Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 

I  I  Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 

I  I  Pages  detached/ 

I  I  Showthrough/ 

I  I  Quality  of  print  varies/ 

I  I  Includes  supplementary  material/ 

I  I  Only  edition  available/ 


D 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  ref limed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  6tA  filmies  A  nouveau  de  fapon  A 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


7 
P 

0 

fl 


0 
b 

tl 

SI 

o 

fl 

si 
o 


T 
si 

T 

N 
dl 
ei 
bi 
ri{ 
rfl 
m 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film*  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqu*  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


C 


12X 


lox 


20X 


26X 


30X 


7 


24X 


28X 


32X 


Th«  copy  filmed  h«r«  has  b««n  raproduciad  thanks 
to  tha  ganaroaity  of: 

Library  Oiviiion 

Provincial  Archival  of  British  Columbia 

Tha  imagaa  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  bast  quality 
posslbia  conaldaring  tha  condition  and  iaglbillty 
of  ?ha  original  copy  and  in  kaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  spacifications. 


Original  copiaa  in  printad  papar  covari  ara  fllmad 
beginning  with  tha  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  last  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  impras- 
aion.  or  tha  back  covar  whan  rppropriata.  All 
othar  original  copias  ara  fllmad  beginning  on  tha 
first  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  impras- 
sion,  and  anding  on  tha  last  paga  with  a  printad 
or  illustratad  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  -^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"}, or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginnirg  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


L'exemplaira  film*  fut  reproduit  grice  A  la 
ginarositA  da: 

Library  Division 

Provincial  Archives  jf  British  Columbia 

Las  Images  suivantas  ont  At*  reproduites  avac  le 
plus  grand  soin.  compta  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
da  la  nattet*  de  I'exemplaire  film*,  et  en 
conformit*  avac  las  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmaga. 

Les  exemplairas  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprlm*e  sont  film*s  en  commen^ant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
darniire  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  salon  la  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  film*s  en  commen^ant  par  la 
pramiAre  page  qui  comporte  una  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  derniAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
darnlAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  — •►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE  ",  le 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN  ". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  Atre 
fiimAs  A  des  taux  de  rAduction  diffArents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Aire 
reproduit  en  un  seui  clichA,  il  est  filmA  A  partir 
de  Tangle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nAcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mAthode. 


1 


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•■"J* 


Contribut 


W  to  the  History  of  the 
Aleutian  Isles,  or  Aleutia. 


By  ARTHUR  B.  STOUT.  M.  D. 

8as  Francisco,  CAi,iTOH;,rA. 


'^'"^^'^''l-^Ci^ll^^^Srie^an,,^^ 


KANSAS.Cn-Y,  Mb  • 
™.SmNO  „„„„  o,  «AM,EV.  M,..t.Tr  *  «^^. 

^- - '—  rt«h 


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'>.:i,';.  ■^s.i.'i 


-v;.fe>ai^<Ky.,^',::-?;  !» 


Ulo-p 


CONTRIBUTION 


TO  THE 


History  of  the  Aleutian  Isles,or  Aleutia, 


HV    ARTHUR    H      STOUI',     M.     !>.,    SAN     KRANCISC<\    CAI.IKORNIA. 


{Reprinted from  the  Katnas  City  Revuw  of  Science  and  Industry  ) 


In  the  course  of  the  year  1874,  the  California  Academy  of  Sciences  re- 
ceived the  donation  from  the  Alaska  ("ommercial  C.oniiiany,  of  San  Francisco,  of 
two  skeletons  or  mummies  These  specimens  were  two  from  a  collection  of  a 
dozen  or  more  v/hich  were  by  them  presented  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  at 
Washington.  A  report  upon  these  latter  was  published  by  the  Smilhsonian  In- 
stitution, and  written  by  W.  H.  Dall,  U.  S.  G.  S.,  in  1878.  To  this  very  valua- 
ble essay  on  "The  Remains  of  Later  Prehistoric  Man,"  I  refer,  with  great  pleas- 
ure, for  many  important  details  omitted  in  this  papor. 

The  two  mummies  in  question  have  remained  in  my  care,  as  Curator  of  the 
Departmtnt  of  Comparative  Anatomy  of  the  Academy,  since  1874,  and,  except 
to  open  the  cases  which  contained  the  bodies,  to  disinfect  and  carbolize  them,  I 
have  not  until  now  ventured  to  study  them.  But  such  is  the  increasing  interest 
in  anthropology  ;  in  the  prehistoric  condition  of  man ;  his  evolution  ;  his  ethnologic 
and  archaeologic  history,  that  I  have  thought  it  important  to  disturb  these  remains 
and  offer  the  work  for  comparison  with  that  of  other  similar  researches. 

The  source  whence  these  mummies  was  procured  is  best  described  by  quot- 
ing as  follows  from  the  report  of  Mr.  Dall : 


109843 


PP""^ 


''  The  most  celebrated  of  these  burial  caves  was  situated  on  the  island  of 
Kaga'mil,  one  of  the  group  known  as  the  Islands  of  F"our  Mountains,  or  Four 
Craters.  This  group  is  not  at  present  inhabited,  except  for  a  short  jjeriod  during 
the  hunting  season  of  each  year. 

'*  I  visited  /.lese  islands  in  1873,  but  as  the  shores  are  precipitous,  and  as 
there  are  no  harbors,  the  weather  was  too  boisterous  to  permit  us  to  remain  in  the 
vicinity.  Even  if  we  had  landed,  it  is  probable  that  we  could  have  done  little 
without  a  guide. 

"  The  traders  in  the  islands  were  aware  of  the  existence  of  this  cave  and  its 
contents,  and  one  of  them,  Capt.  R.  Hennig,  of  the  Alaska  Commercial  Com 
pany's  service,  had  several  times  attempted  to  reach  it  unsuccessfully.  In  1874, 
however,  the  weather  being  quite  calm,  and  the  presence  of  a  hunting  party, 
which  he  was  taking  away  from  the  island,  enabling  him  to  find  the  cave  without 
delay,  he  visited  it  and  removed  all  the  contents,  so  far  as  is  known,  On  their 
arrival  at  San  Francisco,  the  Com|)any,  who  had  instructed  their  agents  to  pro- 
cure such  material  for  scientific  purposes  when  compatible  with  the  execution  of 
their  regular  employment,  with  commendable  liberality,  forwarded  them  to  the 
National  Museum  at  Washington.  Two  of  the  mummies  were  given  to  the  Cali- 
lornia  Academy  of  .Sciences,  but  all  the  rest  were  received  by  'he  Smithsonian 
Institution.  It  is  unfortunate  that  but  few  details  were  obtained  as  to  the  exact 
disposition  of  the  bodies,  or  mummies,  in  the  cave ;  the  sit'iation  and  form  of  the 
latter,  and  other  par  jculars  which  would  have  had  great  interest.  From  accounts 
received  from  Father  Innokenti  Shayesnikoff,  previously,  I  am  led  to  infer  th<t  the 
cave  is  situated  near  the  shore  at  a  pi  tint  where  the  coast  is  precipitous  and  with- 
out a  beach,  the  binding  being  on  large,  irregularly  broken  fragments  of  rock, 
tlie  tables  from  the  cliffs  above.  The  island  contains  active  volcanoes,  as  I  am 
informed,  and  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  cave  are  sclfataras,  from  which 
sleam  constantly  arises,  and  the  soil  is  said  to  be  warm  to  the  touch.  The  rock 
is;  of  a  whitish  and  ferruginous  color  and  sharp  grain.  .Specimens  examined  by 
Dr.  Endiich,  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  prove  to  be  a  silicious  sinter,  con- 
taining a  little  alumina  and  soda,  and  some  hydrous  sesquioxide  of  iron.  In  the 
spectroscope  traces  of  lithium  and  potassium  and  possibly  a  trace  of  lime  were 
seen. 

"  From  this,  and  from  the  fact  that  the  atmosphere  of  the  cave  is  said  to 
have  been  quite  hot,  rendering  it  uncomfortable  to  remain  in,  it  is  possible  that 
the  cave  itself  may  be  the  crater  of  a  small  extinct  solfatara. 

"  With  regard  to  the  age  of  these  mummies,  as  they  may  be  styled,  I  was 
informed,  in  1871,  by  several  of  the  more  intelligent  natives,  that  they  fixed 
the  date  of  the  earliest  interment  in  the  following  manner:  It  occurred  in  the 
autumn  or  winter  During  the  following  spring  the  first  Russians  ever  seen  by 
the  natives  of  the  Four  Craters,  arrived  in  the  vicinity.  These  may  have  been 
Trapeanikoff's  party,  which  left  Kamschatka  in  1758,  but  did  not  reach  Umnak 
until  1760;  or  they  may  have  been  that  of  the.  infamous  PushkarefT;  or  possibly 
of  Maxim  LazeroflC;  but  in  any  case,  they  canjiardly  have  been  the  expedition 


3 


of  Bering.  In  1757  Ivan  NikiforofT  sailed  as  far  east  as  Unak,  being  the  first 
Russian  to  do  so,  except  those  of  Bering's  Expedition,  who  did  not  land  on  any 
of  the  AndreanofT  group,  though  in  1741  they  saw  the  shores  of  numerous  inde- 
terminate islands  from  a  distance.  The  earliest  dale,  therefore,  which  we  can 
assign  to  these  remains  would  be  1756,  making  the  oldest  of  them  about  one 
hundred  and  twenty  years  old. 

"  At  all  events  they  possess  great  interest  as  the  best  jjreserved  relics  of  the 
state  of  things  as  they  existed  immediately  prior  to  the  Russian  occupation,  and 
when  their  pursuits  and  handiwork  had  not  been  modified  by  the  introduction  of 
any  of  the  adjuncts  of  civilization." 

The  two  specimens  were  preserved,  each  in  an  excellent  case  with  glass 
cover.  No  implements  whatever  were  found  No.  i  contained  the  skeleton  of 
a  man,  and  No.  2  contained  the  skeleton  of  a  woman.  This  latter  had  been  dis- 
turbed and  the  strappings  of  the  package  were  off.  The  former  was  yet  intact 
and  its  original  binding  unbroken.  The  odor  was  strong  and  penetrating,  not 
that  of  putrefaction,  but  like  creosote  ;  not  unlike  that  of  buffalo  robes  smoke- 
dried  by  the  North  American  Indians  in  their  wigwams,  only  much  more  pungent. 
Large  quantities  of  the  larvae  of  insects  were  in  the  cases,  showing  that  animal 
life  had  been  busy  in  the  bodies. 

The  hope  was  now  entertained  that  we  possessed,  perhaps,  the  remains  of 
the  distinguished  toyon,  or  toygon,  Kat-haya-Koochak,  the  renowned  Aleut  chief, 
famous  for  his  courage,  enterprise,  riches,  and  love  of  family.  (See  Dall's  Re- 
port, page  9.)  But  this  chief  is  described  as  "a  very  small  man,"  while  our  chief 
measures  5  feet  9  inches  in  the  bones.  Two  units  being  allowed  for  skin,  flesh, 
and  general  shrinkage  between  vertebrae,  would  give  71  inches,  or  5  feet  11 
mches.  His  cerements  are  of  the  simplest  kind,  while  one  of  the  mummies  de- 
scribed by  Dall  was  clothed  in  the  finest  wrought  and  most  costly  fabrics.  Hence 
ours  cannot  be  the  remains  of  this  great  Aleut. 

The  strappings  of  the  packages  being  taken  off,  a  large  sealskin  envelope 
carefully  wrapping* the  bodies,  and  much  deteriorated  by  time  was  unfolded. 
Within  this,  and  covering  closely  the  anterior  part  of  the  body  was  the  spoiled 
and  disintegrated  skin  of  some  large  bird,  some  of  the  feathers  of  which  were 
still  clinging  to  the  rotted  fibres  of  the  skin.  The  bodies  now  exposed  were  yet 
in  some  places  covered  with  the  skin  ;  in  other  parts  the  bones  were  entirely  de- 
nuded. The  skin  was  dark  colored,  desiccated  and  of  paciiydermic  toughness, 
requiring  the  saw,  rather  than  the  knife,  to  divide  it.  It  was  also  perforated 
with  numerous  little  round  holes  made  by  some  boring  insect.  No  traces  of 
viscera  remained,  but  the  thoraces  were  not  opened.  Whether  evisceration  had 
been  practiced  at  the  time  of  embalming,  or  whether  the  mtrusive  animal  life  had 
consumed  them,  was  not  easy  to  determine,  but  the  crania  were  entirely  empty, 
and  we  can  hardly  beheve  that  the  embalmer  removed  the  brain.  The  limbs, 
were  carefully  and  most  compactly  folded  on  the  body,  apparently  to  make  the 
embalmed  package  as  tight  and  small  as  possible,  and  might  be  laid  flat  or  placed 
in  a  sitting  posture.     The  heads  were  depressed  so  that  the  chin  settled  down 


into  the  pit  of  the  neck,  and  the  lower  inaxillrc   l)ci!ig  thus  forced  down,  the 
mouths  were  wide  open. 

It  is  regretal)le  that  photograjjlis  of  tiiesc  mummies  cannot  be  offered,  as  in 
the  picture  given  Ity  Mr.  Dall  the  limbs  are  dislocated  and  distorted,  fading  en- 
tirely to  e.\press  any  idea  the  enibalmers  may  have  desired  to  perpetuate,  or  the 
admirable  care  and  solicitude  in  their  work.  The  thighs  were  brought  up  and 
doubled  close  ujion  the  abdomen  ;  the  legs  folded  snugly  upon  the  thighs,  and 
the  leet  pressed  sharp  down  backward.  The  arms  were  laid  symmetrically  on 
the  thorax,  and  the  forearms  bent  upon  the  arms,  the  hands  not  crossed  in  repose 
upon  the  <:hest,  but  with  the  Hngcrs  curved  over  the  front  of  the  shoulders.* 
Thus  much  for  the  aspett  of  the  bodies. 

What  may  l)e  the  origin,  we  may  ask  of  these  people?     Whence  came  they  ? 

It  is  not  jirobable  that  an  autochthonic  race  exi.sted  in  these  Aleutian  Islands. 
Such  rude,  inhospitable  storm  beaten  regions  were  not  likely  to  be  the  cradle  of 
a  special  triliai  birth.  Regarding  these  islands  as  they  appear  on  the  map,  the 
idea  is  forced  upon  the  mind  that  at  some  remote  epoch  the  two  continents  of 
Asia  and  Amcric  a  formed  one  territory.  The  volcanic  nature  of  the  entire  region 
indicates  a  vast  change  of  the  earth's  surface  by  which  the  constinuity  of  the 
continents  was  destroyed.  The  long  promontory  of  Aliaska  extending  from 
Alaska,  nearly  tou(  lies  the  easternmost  island  of  the  Aleutian  chain.  A  long 
succession  of  wild  eruption  torn  islands  in  a  crescentic  line  crosses  the  sea,  thence 
to  the  Kamschatkan  coast;  the  whole  group,  hung  like  a  grand  festoon  of  gems 
formed  by  Titan  hands  and  resplendent  with  the  illumination  of  volcanic  fires, 
appears  suspended  from  shore  to  shore,  to  adorn  the  approaches  to  the  Straits  of 
khring,  or  rather,  in  a  military  view,  like  a  vast  circumvallation  of  fortresses  to 
defend  their  entrance  from  invasion.  But  the  Arctic  Ocean  has  its  own  defences 
/'^7^/y'/^/  and  needs  no  such  gigantic  Qjmament.  Only  the  ruined  abutments  now  remain 
of  the  "  bridge,"  which  some  author  calls  the  -Aleutian  Islands,  by  which  migra- 
tions of  peoples  passed  from  cuntinent  to  continent,  and  the  bridge  was  the  seg- 
ment of  a  circle. 

This  view  seems  sufficient  without  seeking  a  Malay,  Japanese  or  Chinese  ori- 
gin for  the  natives  of  the  Aleutian  Isles.  Their  progenitors  were  an  autochthonic 
race.  It  is  a  prevailing  opinion  that  a  vast  invasion  of  wild  tribes  from  the  far 
northwest  poured  down  upon  the  ancient  mound  builders  of  North  America, 
sweeping  them  away  from  their  copper  mines  on  Lake  Superior,  destroying  their 
temples,  burial  places  and  fortresses  in  the  valleys  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi, 
and  exterminating  their  race  or  driving  them  back  whence  they  originated,  across 
Texas  into  Mexico  and  Central  America,  leaving  no  vestiges  of  them  but  their 
teocallis  and  their  mcunds.      How  immense  must  have  been  such  an  invasion  and 


"  In  regard  to  Aleutian  burial  ceremonies,  !>.tys  Coxe,  p.tge  173:  "  The  bodies  of  poor  people  arc  wrap- 
pad  in  iheir  own  clothes,  or  in  mats,  then  laid  in  a  grave  and  covered  with  earth.  The  bodies  of  the  rich  are 
put,  together  with  their  clothes  and  arms  In  a  small  boat  made  nf  the  wood  driven  ashore  by  the  sea  ;  the  boat 
is  hung  upon  pules  placed  cross-ways,  and  the  body  is  then  left  to  rot  in  the  open  air." 


how  persistently  continuous  in  its  course,  to  have  so  completely  obliterated  the 
numerous  and  extended  pu|)uiations  of  the  Mound  Builders,  possessed  as  they 
were  of  the  defences  and  weapons  of  a  high  civilization.  The  great  nomadic 
incursions  recorded  in  history,  like  that  of  (ienghis  Khan  into  Kurope,  become 
inconsc(iuential  in  the  comparison. 

If  such  things  did  occur  it  must  have  been  at  an  epoch  long  anterior  to  the 
present  condition  of  the  "  far  northwest."  Karthtpiake  and  cataclysm,  the 
battles  of  fires  and  waters  must  have  created  greater  disturbance  with  far  more 
destructive  and  radical  invasions  than  any  human  agency  could  have  accom- 
plished. The  present  state  of  the  physical  geography  of  this  "far  northwest" 
utterly  precludes  the  possibility  of  any  such  invasions,  fulfilled  by  barbaric  hordes. 
Neither  time  nor  circumstance  could  accomplish  under  such  physical  conditions 
so  gigantic  a  work  and  have  left  not  even  a  mound  or  a  mile-stone  to  mark  its 
route. 

There  must  have  been  upheavals  of  volcanic  peaks  with  their  boiling  lava 
chimneys  forming  mountains  merged  in  the  waters  with  only  their  summits  visible 
above  the  ocean,  like  the  island  of  the  "  Four  Craters,"  and  again  a  subsidence 
of  territory  from  the  caving  in  of  the  vast  subterranean  cavities  emptied  of  their 
seething  contents  With- all  this  must  have  occurred  an  inundation  of  waters,  in 
which  great  cataclysm  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans  blended,  the 
grand  Gulf  stream  of  the  former  passing  through  the  Arctic  Sea  by  the  Straits 
of  Behring  with  the  efjually  grand  Pacific  Black  Stream,  or  Kuro  Shiwo.  Before 
this  epoch  the  ancestors  of  the  Esquimaux  in  America  and  the  Koriaks,  the 
Chukches,  or  Tuiigusian  Tartars  of  Asia  may  have  traded,  and  dwelt  in  their 
igloos  together.* 

Let  all  this  be  as  it  may,  at  the  time  that  the  Russians  discovered  these  is- 
lands, the  natives  of  the  different  groups  spoke  different  languages,  and,  hence 
we  may  infer  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  various  groups  were  the  remains  of  mi- 
grations from  both  America  on  their  east  and  Asia  at  their  west,  as  they  again 
coalesced,  and  were  regenerated  from  the  lapse  of  time. 

Some  question  has  been  made  of  the  derivation  of  the  name  Aleut,  and 
even  suggested  that  it  was  a  term  of  contempt  of  the  Russian  explorers  and  fur 
hunters  for  the  islanders,  (see  Dall's  Report  page  — ,)  but  we  find  in  the  work  of 
Wm.  Coxe,  A.  M.,  London,  1780,  Russian  Discoveries  Between  Asia  and  Amer- 
ica, published  just  100  years  ago,  that  the  word  Aleut  is  Russian,  meaning  "a 
bold  rock."  Such  is  the  distinctive  character  of  all  the  islands,  and,  hence  seems 
peculiarly  adapted  as  their  title. 


»  The  pent.iip  waters  of  the  Arctic  Ocean  burst  through  the  Behring  Strait  and  overwhelmed  the  rulni 
left  from  volcanic  fires— as  the  waters  of  the  Nevadas  by  a  thousand  Hoods  at  some  epoch  tore  through  the 
Uoldrn  Uate.  As  a  further  illustration  of  this  subsidence  and  upheaval  it  is  recognized  that  the  waters  of  the 
Arctic  Ocean  once  penetrated  the  American  continent  as  far— if  not  still  further— as  Great  Slave,  and  Atha- 
basca Lakes,  and  that  that  long  chain  of  lakes  in  the  interior  of  the  continent  are  only  the  vestiges  of  the  de- 
parture of  the  greater  sea.  In  the  same  manner  as  it  is  conceded  that  Siberia  was  once  covered  by  the  Arctic 
waters,  the  remains  of  which  are  the  Lake  Baikal  and  the  Caspian  Sea,  while  such  great  rivers  as  the  Lena, 
Veneisei  and  Anadyr  now  drain  the  mountain  lines  back  to  the  retreated  ocean. 


0 


A  glance  at  the  gronping  of  these  islands  is  im|)nrtant  to  our  purpose,  ist. 
At  the  northwest  of  the  semi-cir<iilar  girdle  are  Hchrings  Island  and  Copper  Is- 
land, where  large  oiitcroppings  of  copper  indicate  an  abundant  mine  of  the  metal, 
and  possibly  point  to  a  line  of  copjjer  vein  from  the  shores  of  I.,ake  Superior  over 
the  region  of  the  Coppermine  Country  in  Alaska  to  this  deposit.  We  may  remark 
in  passing,  that  it  is  surprising  that  with  this  free  surface  deposit  of  copper  at  this 
locality,  no  copjjcr  implements  have  been  discovered  among  the  relics  of  the 
old  Aleuts. 

and.  Say  SE.  are  the  Aleutian  Islands  |>roper,  viz :  Attak,  Semitski,  and 
Shemiya,  W.  NW.  to  K.  SE. 

3d.  Then,  NE.  some  six  islands,  the  AndreanofTski  group,  or  Ostrava, 
meaning  islands,  and 

4th.     The   Lyssie  Ostrova,  or   l*cx   Island,  stretching   SE.  and  N.  by    E. 
almost  to  the  Alaska  promontory,  and  the  last  discovered  at  the  epoch  now  allud- 
ed to. 

This  last  miportant  group  contains  Umnak,  Ounal-askka,  or  Aghunalaskka, 
the  principal  depot  of  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company,  with  St.  Paul  and  St. 
George  further  to  the  north,  and  also  the  barren  deserted  isle,  one  of  the  "  Four 
Craters"  or  Kagamil.  In  a  cave  of  this  island,  a  bolc^  bluff,  mid-ocean,  storm- 
lashed  in  its  arctic  clime,  but  yet  still  seething  and  steaming  with  solfataras,  and 
volcanic  heat,  is  the  Mausoleum  of  our  Aleut  Claef  and  all  his  family.  Here  we 
meet  him  and  his  progeny  on  a  desolate  fragment  of  the  ruptured  territory  which 
once  united  the  two  great  continents — the  monumental  stone  of  the  ruin  not 
only  of  the  land  but  the  division  of  unnumbered  peoples.  Imagination  may 
picture,  but  cannot  surpass  the  grandeur  of  the  truth.  Another  division  of  the 
Aleutians  is : 

I.  The  Kaniagmuts,  and  il.  The  Aleuts.  III.  The  "  Vaygeli,"  or 
Spectral  Outlaws.  These  are  su|)posed  to  be  the  original  inhabitants  who  dis- 
dained any  outside  authority,  refused  to  be  converted  to  Christianity,  and  con- 
sequently live,  if  such  really  exisi,  as  independent  natives  or  banditti  in  the  in- 
terior inaccessable  mountains. 

The  Vaygeli  may  possibly  be  only  the  predatory  animals  which  come  at  night 
and  carry  off  the  islanders'  provisions.  Hut  the  mythical  or  legendary  belief  of 
the  natives  points  distinctly  to  ancestral  sagas  which  have  been  orally  handed 
down  to  them  from  generation  to  generation.  We  may  infer  either  an  extinct 
prehistoric  race  with  which  the  present  family  has  no  lineal  descents,  or  we  may 
refer  the  legend  to  the  earliest  progenitors  of  present  tribal  groups. 

As  regards  our  present  mummies  they  are  undoubtedly  too  recent,  whether 
we  allow  them  1 20  years,  or  about  340,  according  to  Captain  C.  L.  Luneuski,  to 
consider  them  in  the  light  of  prehistoric  remains,  or  concede  to  them  Mr.  Dall's 
distinction  of  "  Remains  of  Later  Prehistoric  Man  "  Capt.  Lunieus'  '  ''ns  been 
a  resident  of  the  Aleut  Isles  for  many  years,  connected  with  the  "'^....iia  Com- 
mercial Company.  He  ant».  lates  our  mummies  many  years  to  tl/.  Vvussian 
discovery  and  conquest  of  the  islands.      H's  intelligent  studies  predicate.!  in  part 


7 

on  the  diversity  of  their  languages,  gave  to  the  Aleuts  a  divided  descent,  in  part 
from  the  Ks(|uii,  lux  of  America,  and  the  Mongoloids  of  northeastern  Asia. 

The  Russian  explorers  and  fur-hunters  of  importance  in  the  discovery  of  the 
various  islands  were : 

Bering  in 1728 

Bering  and  Tchcrihoff  in 1741 

Nevodsikoff  in 1745 

SerebranikofT 1753  to  1756 

Trapesnikoflf 175810  1760 

Bethshevin  ....   reachf^d  Alexsu,  furthest  island  east. 

Tolslyh  .    ....        1760  to  1764 

These  navi  ;ators,  with  few  e.vr'.ptions,  treated  the  natives  with  great  barbarity. 
Many  of  their  expeditions  were  failures  and  their  vessels  wrecked ;  several  of  them 
were  burned  by  tue  natives.  All  o>  tliem  suffered  great  hardships.  Of  their 
ves.sels,  says  Coxe,  page  — ,  "  Mo.st  of  tliem  which  are  etjuipped  for  these  ex|)e- 
ditions,  are  two  masted ;  they  are  commonly  built  without  iron,  and  in  general 
so  badly  constructed  that  it  is  wonderful  how  they  can  weather  so  stormy  a  sea. 
They  are  called  in  Russian  Skitiki,  sewed  vessels,  because  the  planks  are  sewed 
together  with  thongb  of  leather.  Some  few  are  built  in  the  river  Kamschatka,  but 
they  are  for  the  most  part  constructed  in  the  haven  of  Ochotsk.  The  largest  are 
manned  with  seventy  men,  the  smaller  with  forty  men." 

Hence  the  Aleuts,  as  naval  constructors,  with  their  elegantly  and  artistically 
built  bidarkas  and  baydars  far  excelled  in  skill  their  abusive  invaders.  But  these 
latter  had  guns.  In  their  warfare  they  displayed  much  military  invention.  To 
avoid  the  guns  they  constructed  large  double  screens  made  of  seal  skins,  stuffed 
between  with  dried  fibre  of  grass,  and  advanced  toward  the  vessel,  pouring  upon 
its  deck  their  missiles  from  behind,  and  finally  setting  fire  to  it  with  sulphur  found 
in  their  island  craters. 

Inside  of  the  war  faculty,  and  touching  the  home  and  domestic  idea,  wild 
to  our  appreciation  as  it  may  be,  we  are  taught  by  the  elaborate  and  exhaustive 
report  of  Mr.  Dall  on  the  mummies  from  our  "  Four  Crater"  cave,  that  their 
art  work  by  their  women,  whether  the  result  of  nearly  lost  hereditary  culture,  or 
of  native  original  industry,  patience  and  invention,  was  high  in  its  excellence. 
(See  report  of  Case  17478  in  the  Museum  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  page  11 
of  Dall's  Report,  cited).  This  ethnological  description  is  rich  in  its  suggestive 
text.  How  did  the  Aleuts  learn  to  make  these  extra  fine  fabrics,  with  nothing 
but  .■Meutian  raw  material  ?  Our  present  chief  is  silent  but  he  left  head  enough 
to  explain  it  all. 

In  brief,  from  all  this  we  can  derive  enough  to  feel  sure  that  this  ancient  folk, 
after  their  own  way  of  thinking,  education,  and  old  civilization,  possessed  a  high 
sense  of  religion,  believed  in  a  future  life,  as  proved  by  their  devoted  funeral 
ceremonies,  worshipped  a  divine  creator;  appreciated  the  love  of  home,  were 
profoundly  impressed  with  the  devotion  due  to  the  family  bond.  Still  further 
may  we  trace  the  illustration,  for  if  rranial  capacity  and  form  can  be  regarded  as 


8 

the  index  of  mental  ability,  we  have  shown  that  the  eagle-like  tenant  of  his  north- 
ern fastness  was  worthy  of  his  eyrie.  Again,  will  it  appear  that  here  on  the  con- 
fines of  nations,  in  the  same  tomb  the  two  great  types  of  the  human  races,  the 
dolicocephalic  and  the  brachycephalic  heads,  were  together  embalmed. 

When  the  Russians  discovered  the  islands  the  Kamschatdale  interpreters,  who 
could  speak  the  language  of  the  Aleut  group  could  not  understand  the  dialect  of 
the  natives  of  the  I'ox  Islands.  To  obtain  their  objects  they  resorted  to  the  cun- 
ning  device  of  utilizing  the  paternal  affection  of  the  chiefs.  Under  pretense  of 
keeping  the  peace  and  insuring  the  tribute  of  seal  skins,  exacted  by  the  Russian 
Government,  they  caused  the  sons  of  toygons,  or  chiefs,  to  be  delivered  to  them  as 
hostages.  These  they  sent  to  Kamschatka  to  acquire  the  Russian  language.  The 
celerity  and  aptitude  with  which  these  boys  learned  to  interpret  went  far  to 
prove  the  natural  intelligence  of  the  people  so  more  than  barbarously  treated 
by  them  as  barbarians.  As  reward  for  their  services  they  converted  them  as  usual 
to  Christianity,  but  piously  took  their  skins ;  nor  did  they  fail  to  appropriate  their 
women,  which,  as  ^' ante  Trojum  fuii,"  was  always  the  cause  of  their  wars  with 
the  Russians.  Their  hospitality,  kindness,  and  indispensable  aid  to  the  invaders 
of  their  realm  were  devoted  and  unceasing,  until  deceived,  as  were  other  Indians 
by  Cortes  and  Pizarro,  by  lust,  and  the  "  a uri  sacra  fames.  "^ 

Tiie  existence  of  three  languages,  or  perhaps  dialects,  may  be  inferred,  for 
Coxe  states,  (page  264,)  that  the  inhabitants  of  Unalaska  were  called  Khigolaghi ; 
those  next  eastward  to  Unimak  were  named  Kighigusi,  and  those  of  Unimak  and 
Alaxa,  were  styled  Kalaghayekiki.  In  1741  Bering  sighted  and  Stellar  first 
landed  on  the  American  continent.     (Coxe,  page  277). 

The  Russians  conquered  Kamschatka  in  1696,  taking  45  years  to  discover  the 
way  from  shore  to  shore.  As  the  islands  then  were  peopled,  so  in  probability 
were  their  languages  introduced,  by  the  various  tribes  of  refugees  in  quest  of 
safety  in  flight,  or  as  hunters  of  game  from  the  shores  of  both  continents,  or  as 
they  mingled  before  the  continents  were  cleft  apart. 

■^  Their  phallic  customs  are  more  worthy  of  leniency  than  are  the  morbid  abuses  of  otner  people. 


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